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January 24, 2010

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: New Albany grinds out another victory

No. 6 Bulldogs end tough stretch with 78-68 win over Reitz

BY JON REITER

NEW ALBANY — The New Albany boys’ basketball squad has played a schedule that resembles an NBA team’s, having played five games in nine nights.

If that grind has worn on the Class 4A No. 6 Bulldogs, it hasn’t been that evident, as New Albany has won all five of those games. Saturday night’s 78-68 conquest of a tough Evansville Reitz squad at The Doghouse pleased coach Jim Shannon for many reasons, he said.

“I thought when we extended the lead in the second half and made them chase us a little bit, our kids did a great job holding them off,” Shannon said. “All in all, this was a great win against a really good team.”

The Panthers (9-4) came out of the gates quickly, taking a 4-0 lead following short jumpers from center Kyle Rust and star guard Drew Adams inside the first minute.

It was 6-2 Reitz when Bulldog (10-2) guard Jordy Martin nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing, and Chris Whitehead followed with a 3 from the top of the key to give New Albany a 10-6 lead with 3:47 left in the first quarter.

New Albany didn’t trail for the remainder of the contest, although it never pulled away from the sharpshooting Panthers. Reitz twice cut the New Albany lead to seven points, once during the third quarter and another time at the midway point in the fourth quarter.

It was 58-51 New Albany when Whitehead drove the lane and found Hale underneath the basket for a two-handed slam dunk. Whitehead followed that possession with a steal near midcourt and a driving layup attempt that missed the mark.

In what created the loudest roar of the night from inside The Doghouse, forward Tate Rohlfing picked up Whitehead’s miss and followed it up with a ferocious dunk between two Reitz defenders that gave New Albany a 62-51 lead and basically salted away the game.

Hale led New Albany with 24 points and nine rebounds. Whitehead’s stat line was impressive across the board: 22 points, nine assists, six steals and five rebounds.

“He’s playing incredible,” Shannon said of the junior guard. “He’s been doing it all year for us, but lately he has really picked it up. He’s making steals and pressuring the ball, guarding the other team’s best player, running our offense ... he’s just doing it all.”

After playing most of his bench in a blowout win over Silver Creek Friday night, Shannon didn’t have that luxury Saturday. Reitz’s backcourt trio of Clinton Happe, Evan Brinkmeyer and Drew Adams combined for 53 points and 8-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc, and Shannon said he was concerned about their ability to score points in a hurry.

“They’re excellent shooters,” Shannon said. “All of their kids know how to find the basket. In the second half, we only played six guys, but under the circumstances and how good that team was, we had to do it.”

New Albany will face another challenge from the Pocket City when Evansville North travels to The Doghouse next Friday.



EVANSVILLE REITZ 14 11 20 23—68

NEW ALBANY 22 11 21 24—78

Evansville Reitz (9-4) — Happe 23, Adams 13, Brinkmeyer 17, Riffert 6, Rust 7, Roeder 2, Kirsch 0.

New Albany (10-2) — Hale 24, Whitehead 22, Rohlfing 8, Martin 13, Benson 7, Stotts 0, Tolliver 0, McDaniel 4.

3-point field goals — Reitz 9 (Rust, Happe 3, Adams 3, Brinkmeyer 2); New Albany 7 (Rohlfing 2, Whitehead 2, Martin 3).

Rebounds — Reitz 25 (Rust 10); New Albany 26 (Hale 9).

Turnovers — Reitz 13, New Albany 8.

JUNIOR VARSITY: New Albany 48 (15-7-9-17) — Parrish 10, Jones 2, Edwards 14, Meyer 8, Threatt 4, Kraft 10; Evansville Reitz 37 (7-14-11-5) — Mitchell 13, Gary 10, Tidwell 10, Levels 2, Hulsman 2.



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